In November 2018, CMS released new state data on MAGI Medicaid and CHIP application processing time. These data reflect continued progress in reporting of performance indicators that CMS established in 2013 to facilitate data-driven program management and improvement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced broad plans to the state’s health care system almost immediately after taking the oath of office. Larry Levitt, Senior Vice President for Health Reform at KFF, answers three questions about what the plan’s individual mandate and expanded subsidies could mean for the state and nationwide.

On November 14, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed revisions to the Medicaid managed care regulations with public comments due by January 14, 2019. CMS previously finalized a major revision to these regulations in 2016. The November 2018 proposed rule is not a wholesale revision of the 2016 final rule but proposes changes in the following key areas: network adequacy, beneficiary protections, quality oversight, and rate setting and payment.

Medicaid, the provider of health insurance coverage for about one in five Americans and the largest payer for long-term care services in the community and nursing homes, continues to be a key part of health policy debates at the federal and state level. Important Medicaid issues to watch in 2019 include Medicaid expansion developments amid ongoing litigation about the ACA’s constitutionality as well as Medicaid demonstration waiver activities, including those focused on work requirements and other eligibility restrictions. States are also likely to continue to pursue initiatives to address the opioid crisis, and the recent passage of bi-partisan legislation with new tools and financing could bolster these efforts. Primary areas of federal policy to watch in 2019 with implications for Medicaid include the expiration of temporary funding for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the absence of legislative action as well as potential regulatory changes to public charge policies that would likely lead to Medicaid enrollment declines among immigrant families. Finally, reforms in benefits, payment and delivery systems continue to evolve as states and the federal government focus on managed care, social determinants of health, prescription drugs, and community based long-term care. While beyond the scope of this brief, Congress and states could also consider broader health reform that could expand the role of public programs in health care including Medicare for All or Medicaid buy-in programs that could have significant implications for Medicaid.

This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.

This factsheet reviews major sources of coverage for women residing in the U.S. in 2017, discusses the impact of the ACA on women’s coverage, and the coverage challenges that many women continue to face.

On November 7, 2018, a day after the 2018 midterm elections, the Trump Administration issued a proposed regulation to address “Exchange Program Integrity.” A major element of this proposed rule would affect insurers, consumers, and state insurance regulators in the states that either allow or require abortion coverage. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to ban plans from offering abortion as a benefit on their Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) and requires plans that cover abortion to segregate policyholder payments for abortion coverage from all other premium charges. This brief provides an overview of current ACA-related abortion coverage policies and analyzes the potential impact of the proposed changes.

The Affordable Care Act’s changes to the nation’s health care system are so widespread that nearly all Americans would be affected in some way if a federal judge’s decision ruling the entire law unconstitutional is upheld, according to a new analysis from KFF (the Kaiser Family Foundation). While the changes…